Sounders FC to battle Timbers in U.S. Open Cup

The resumption of the Northwest’s top soccer rivalry won’t have to wait until 2011.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will bring Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers together at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a third-round match at PGE Park in Portland.

The Sounders are defending champions, and one win along the way to their 2009 title came at Portland, 2-1, before a crowd of 16,382.

The Timbers earned a rematch Saturday with a 4-1 win over the Kitsap Pumas of the Premier Development League. Portland is playing this season in U.S. Soccer’s second division before joining the Sounders in Major League Soccer next season.

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The winner will advance to the quarterfinals against either the Los Angeles Galaxy or second-division AC St. Louis. If Seattle advances, it would play host to St. Louis on July 6 or Los Angeles on July 7 at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila.

The Open Cup is the U.S. Soccer Federation’s National Championship, open to all amateur and professional teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in the country and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world.